What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Nepenthesis

Formerly known as Pineapple
I just set up my new greenhouse. It's right in the middle of winter right now. I'm in zome 9-10.
The greenhouse gets up to about 65F-70F during the day, with around 60-70 percent humidity. At night, it drops to about 48F-50F, with much higher humidity. I think my three neps would benefit more from natural sunlight rather than 40w fluorescent bulbs, and they will get more air circulation. I would like to move them outside as soon as possible. Will they be stressed if I moved them outside during the day and back into their humid terrarium at night? What is the coldest temperature a highland nep can tolerate, and for how long can they stay in that temperature?

The neps in question are all highlanders -- Ventricosa x Talangensis; Truncata; Ventrata -- and they're all beginner species.

Thanks in advance! :)
 
I would definitely start moving those plants to the greenhouse, as I'm not a fan of terrarium conditions. Try acclimating them a bit first, assuming the humidity in the terrarium is very high, but those species are all pretty hardy, so I doubt shock will be much of an issue for you.
 
I have a 4" Home Depot test bromeliad that I can use to make sure the temperature won't kill the neps. I'll leave it in there for a few days and see what happens. We're about to go into some 35F nights, so I may wait until the nights get up into the forties before I add the neps. I just sealed off every crack in the greenhouse using bubble wrap and I'm going to caulk the panels in place which should help keep in the heat. In the meanwhile, I'll take the hood off of the terrarium to acclimate them to cooler temperatures and lower humidity. :)

Thanks for the reply!
 
I keep my Ventrata outside unless the nighttime temperatures drop near freezing. It's handled nights in the mid-30s with no sulking, though it has stopped growing. However, my plant also spent some of the summer and all of fall outside, so it's had a long time to adapt to the lower humidity and whatnot - if yours is coming from a terrarium you'll want to spend some time acclimating it.
 
I keep my Ventrata outside unless the nighttime temperatures drop near freezing. It's handled nights in the mid-30s with no sulking, though it has stopped growing. However, my plant also spent some of the summer and all of fall outside, so it's had a long time to adapt to the lower humidity and whatnot - if yours is coming from a terrarium you'll want to spend some time acclimating it.

Thanks for the reply! That's good news. It rarely gets below 30 around here in the winter, but usually stays around 35 or so at the coldest. It only drops to there for a few hours during the night anyways. :)
 
35 degrees might be a bit chilly for some of those guys. They might be highland plants, that doesn't make them temperate...
 
35 degrees might be a bit chilly for some of those guys. They might be highland plants, that doesn't make them temperate...

I believe it would be a bit warmer in the greenhouse now that I sealed it off from the outside air using bubble wrap. I'll be caulking the windows in as well, so that should help too. I'm going to get up early tomorrow while it's still dark and check the nighttime temperature.
 
The N. truncata will not appreciate getting overly cold. I find they are really more lowland/intermediate.. even the Pasian 'highland' form.

The other two are quite durable and hardy growers regarding colder temperatures.

One thing you will need to be careful about is burning the plants. Despite it being Winter, the sun is still quite strong in comparison to 40w fluorescent tubes.
 
Maybe you should put in a heater and a thermostat for winter...thats what I did to mine. It would be useful if a cold snap ever came along. Also, when summer comes around a cooling system X thermostat would be useful too.
 
  • #10
The N. truncata will not appreciate getting overly cold. I find they are really more lowland/intermediate.. even the Pasian 'highland' form.

The other two are quite durable and hardy growers regarding colder temperatures.

One thing you will need to be careful about is burning the plants. Despite it being Winter, the sun is still quite strong in comparison to 40w fluorescent tubes.

My local hardware store sells shade cloth by the foot for $1.99, but it's three feet wide. My greenhouse's "roof" is only three feet wide on each side, so it would be around $35 to shade the entire thing.

Will it bother the truncata if I keep him inside during the night and outside during the day? Knowing that lowland/intermediate species won't work well for me, I'll probably do some research on highlanders and make up a list for my trip to the nep nursery.

Maybe you should put in a heater and a thermostat for winter...thats what I did to mine. It would be useful if a cold snap ever came along. Also, when summer comes around a cooling system X thermostat would be useful too.

What heater/cooler did you use for your greenhouse? I'm afraid of getting a space heater because of all the horror stories of them blowing up or catching on fire. Somebody I know had their greenhouse burn down due to a heater malfunction, and it was less than 10ft from their house. Luckily they caught it in time. I really don't want to get anything expensive because I'm a cheapo... Plus, I don't want my electric bill to go up, haha.

Now that I think of it, I actually do have a portable electric cooler that can be filled with ice and it cools off rooms pretty well. That will be useful for the summer! EDIT: Actually, just kidding... I think it got thrown away. :blush:
 
  • #11
The very extended forecast is predicting 40F-50F at night for the next two weeks straight! It will get down to 38F for just one night. Once it gets past that, I will move them into the greenhouse. :)
 
Back
Top